Rep. Stewart votes to repeal Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Chris Stewart voted Tuesday to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. This bill to repeal Obamacare passed the House 239 to 186 and now moves to the Senate.

“Of all the laws past in recent years, I hear most about the destructive impact of Obamacare,” Stewart said. “Its original intent was to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, but it has done the exact opposite in Utah – increasing healthcare premiums, and making doctors and plans less accessible. I’m proud to have voted to repeal Obamacare today. Now we must replace it with reforms that allow Americans to make their own healthcare choices, actually making it more affordable and accessible.”

Stewart delivered a speech on the House Floor about this destructive law.

17 Comments

You may want to consult the dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/news). It’s most certainly news. You may not consider it newsworthy, but that’s just your opinion. It’s relevant and timely. The fact that the source was a press release doesn’t mean it isn’t news. That’s the whole point of a press release: you release it to the press, and then they can choose to syndicate it to the public (that’s you and me). And it was news to me, and welcome news at that. Obamacare is a 2,500 page steaming pile that was passed without being read, and using every dirty, underhanded tactic available. And in fact is illegal, since congress doesn’t just vote on laws, it writes them, and this wasn’t written by congress or even their staff, it was written by the Apollo Alliance (which even you and Ed would consider radical, if you knew who they were and what they stood for). So thank you Chris Stewart for you vote, and thank you St. George News for *gasp* reporting the news in St. George.

Certainly Congressman Stewart is a heroic figure for his unwavering bravery –with zero thought for his own safety– in voting to repeal, for the zillioneth time, the ACA. We can only hope that this sort of “message legislation” spreads to other areas. Imagine if our hero were able to vote on a weekly basis for other noble legislation, such as the Mothers and Apple Pie Bill, the We Support our Troops Bill, and the Frenchies are Sissies Bill. Puffing up one’s chest, to impress weak minds like Brian’s, is a noble and worthy cause — even if it is otherwise a complete waste of the taxpayer’s nickle.

You are grossly misinformed. First of all, Congressmen rarely, if ever, write the laws they vote on. The writing is done by staffers, special interests groups and, increasingly, by lobbyists for virtually every bill that comes before Congress. Congressman may have written their own bills in the days of Washington, but that has not been the case for, at least, 100 years. Secondly, the rumor that the Apollo Alliance wrote the ACA is completely unsubstantiated, a rumor propagated by nutjobs on talk radio. The fact, well documented, is that the ACA was almost completely written by the health insurance industry itself. You need to relook at the sources you apparently believe.

Oh please don’t repeal Obama’s Care. I just got it and tried to fill a prescription. It would cost me more using Obama’s Care than paying cash like I used to do. However, it makes me feel oh so special to support this “steaming pile” of insurance since I didn’t have any before. Thank you Oba.

My insurance went up 40% to 20,500 a year (no joke), apparently to cover the cost of yours. You’re welcome. See, socialism works just fine… Of course, doctors are retiring early to avoid it, many no longer accept insurance, a LOT of what used to be covered isn’t any more (but my non-existent uterus is, and I can now get all the morning-after-murder pills I want…), and long (2 – 6 months) waiting lines are forming to see specialists and get many kinds of surgery (just like in the UK and Canada). So enjoy it while it lasts.

Maybe you should look for different insurance if yours has gone up that much. Just log onto HealthCare.gov and compare the PRIVATE insurance plans that are available. Open enrollment ends Feb 15. Obamacare is not socialized medicine but is private insurance. Not sure where you heard all of the other claims against Obamacare that you make but I would have liked it if my children could have stayed on our insurance until they were 26 instead of being thrown off at 22 (yay, Obamacare), my niece who has diabetes is resting easier knowing that she can’t be dropped by her insurance and my healthy son is now able to purchase real health insurance (with no subsidy mind you) instead of the junk policy that was the only one available. Our insurance went down a little last year and is one of the prominent insurance companies in Utah. I don’t listen to Fox News for my information.

What we have is not socialism Brian….not even close. You would know that if yopu had ever beenn to the U.K and had to use their services. What we have is a system in which corporations like United Healthcare get government subsides without regulation on how much they can charge over and above that. Of course this was not the original plan, which was a “socialist” plan, but the plan that was left after the people who “subsidize” the pockets of of Republicans like Mitt “I don’t care about 47% of Americans” Romney and Orrin “Older then God” Hatch got wind of it.

If you are paying $20,500 per year for healthcare insurance, you are a chump. I pay for my own from Select Health for a family of 4, and I get “gold” level coverage for $12,000 per year. You apparently don’t understand the insurance you have, or you are lying about its cost, or you are a sucker who believes whatever a salesman tell you. Name me one doctor in this town who does not accept insurance. Name me one who has retired early because of the ACA.

I get it through my employer and have no say in where we get it from. They shopped around aggressively before staying with what we had, since there were no better options. Group plans are not the same as private plans. Obamacare has been especially hard on group plans through employers (which makes sense when its architects think companies are evil and don’t create jobs). Rick Jensen doesn’t accept insurance (and I don’t blame him at all; he’s the best doctor I’ve ever been to, hands down). Feel free to educate yourself on doctors retiring due to Obamacare: http://www.reportingonhealth.org/2014/03/10/whether-it%E2%80%99s-retire-or-flee-doctors-are-leaving-health-care

ChrisFebruary 5, 2015 at 6:02 pm

So, you are paying $20,500 per year as your share of an employer provided insurance? I’m sorry, but you and your employer are getting ripped off. There is no way anyone “shopped around aggressively” for that plan. You are right that group plans are not the same as private plans–they are cheaper. Rick Jensen is a “naturopath”, not a medical doctor, and his “treatments” are not covered by insurance anyway. Personally, I prefer true medical professionals over quacks. Let’s see–outrageously overpriced insurance and a preference for “naturopaths.” I stick with my original assessment–chump.

ChrisFebruary 5, 2015 at 6:13 pm

I read your link, and it appears, you did not. The article details the loss of providers for various reasons, but not one mention of Obamacare. One commenter claimed to have retired when Obamacare passed. He was 70 when he retired. I think you should feel free to educate yourself better than you have done so far. Your reasoning is completely “knee jerk.”

SimoneFebruary 5, 2015 at 8:23 pm

Brian I appreciate your answer but Rick Jensen is not a M.D, he is a N.D and, while Im sure he does good work, His type of medicine was not even close to the primary focus of the ACA. (His webpage is linked here)Though I would need to look more into it, If memory serves the ACA had very little effect on his practice. Also, I don’t know but I think Chris was referring to an MD’s practice, not and ND’s.

Your article was good too. I especially enjoyed the part where the writer inferred that a EHR program was the sole reason six doctors left a hospital in California. It was a good try but it failed to answer the question Chris posed. So what about it? Can you name 1 MD who has already retired(or left their practice) or will retire (or leave their practice) within the next 12 months solely because of the ACA?

Yawn! I’m glad Chris Stewart is proud of his vote to repeal Obamacare. The Republicans have voted more than 50 times to repeal but have yet to come up with another proposal. What a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money! I thought the Republicans were all about jobs. Where are the jobs?

Thank you Representative Stewart for representing the interests of your constituency and not the socialist whimperings of those who support a nanny government. Now implement a workable insurance plan that curbs the appetites of the spending liberals.

I had great health insurance through my job a few years ago until I was laid off. Now since I’m considered to be low-income with a lesser paying job, I have Obamacare as of Feb 1, through Anthem Blue Cross. (and we were all just hacked today for all our information, including social security numbers, etc. ) My monthly premium is $9.50, with a $6,400 deductible. The government is paying my monthly subsidized premium of about $400.00. So if I want to get any medical care or a prescription, I have to pay the $6,400 every year. What a great deal??? I will have to pay cash for anything other than a major medical event. The government decides what your monthly premium is, according to your income. I have to pay a penalty of $250.00 on my taxes for not having insurance last year. However, since Obamacare is in the process of being repealed, who knows what will happen next?